Tyndale campus recently hosted the annual Preaching Conference. The featured keynote was given by Dr. Matthew D. Kim, Associate Professor of Preaching at Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary. Tyndale alumni, students and those active in ministry were in attendance to gain new perspectives and encouragement for their respective ministries.
Dr. Kevin Livingston, Associate Professor of Pastoral Ministry at Tyndale Seminary, emphasized the importance of the topics offered at the conference. “The world has changed and that means the life experience, values, and worldview of our potential audience has changed. We need to think through what preaching looks like when it comes to addressing the culture that doesn’t have a Christian memory, doesn’t believe the Bible as authoritative and doesn’t just assume there is a God,” he says.
He also highlighted the significance of adjusting the message to reach the current audiences, such as new immigrant and ethnic-specific congregations, which are on the leading edge of church growth today. He noted how Dr. Kim was helpful in bringing cultural stereotypes to the forefront in the kind of stories we tell or in the way a speaker often communicates from his or her own cultural background.
Dr. Kim earned his MTh and PhD at the University of Edinburgh and has over fifteen years of experience in preaching and teaching. He has also authored several books, including Preaching with Cultural Intelligence: Understanding the People Who Hear Our Sermons (Baker Academic), which was named the 2018 Preaching Magazine Book of the Year.
His motivation for writing on this subject was to provide a balanced perspective on the topic of preaching. “I wanted to help preachers not only understand the world of the Bible but also be able to translate the Bible into today’s context,” says Dr. Kim. With all of today’s complex societal issues, he stressed the importance of pastoral preaching, particularly being aware of how people are hurting, processing and living out the Bible in their own contexts.
“Theologically we believe preaching is an important pastoral action of the church. At Tyndale, we want to serve and encourage our own graduates and others in ministry by being a resource to them and the larger church,” says Dr. Livingston.
Next year, the Preaching Conference will be held on April 28, 2020.
Follow the link for a podcast of Dr. Kim’s chapel message.